/ weɪst; NAmE / noun
1.
the area around the middle of the body between the ribs and the hips, often narrower than the areas above and below :
He put his arm around her waist.
She was paralysed from the waist down (= in the area below her waist) .
The workmen were stripped to the waist (= wearing no clothes on the top half of their bodies) .
—picture at body
2.
the part of a piece of clothing that covers the waist :
a skirt with an elasticated waist
3.
-waisted (in adjectives) having the type of waist mentioned :
a high-waisted dress
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WORD ORIGIN
late Middle English : apparently representing an Old English word from the Germanic root of the verb wax senses 4 and 5.